AUGUST 2011 — Current estimates of the impact of chemotherapy on women's reproductive health are too low, according to a University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) study. The researchers say their analysis of the age-specific, long-term effects of chemotherapy provides new insights that will help patients and clinicians make more informed decisions about future reproductive options, such as egg harvesting.

AUGUST 2011 - A recent study demonstrated increased rates of celiac disease in women who present with unexplained infertility. Published in the May-June 2011 issue of The Journal of Reproductive Medicine, the study evaluated 191 female patients presenting with infertility. Each participant underwent serologic screening for celiac disease as well as routine infertility testing. The 4 patients who had positive serum test results were advised to seek evaluation with a gastroenterologist.

JULY 2011 — Scientists have shown for the first time in a large population study that mothers' stopping smoking around the time of getting pregnant can prevent the harmful effects of tobacco on their babies' growth. Results from a study of over 50 000 pregnancies revealed that women who gave up smoking when their pregnancy was confirmed gave birth to babies with a similar birthweight to those born to mothers who had never smoked, Professor Nick Macklon, from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology,

November 02, 2011 - Richmond, British Columbia - Fertility Specialists of Houston has been using SonixTouch systems from Ultrasonix Medical Corporation for the past six years. This reproductive medicine center now has 14 Ultrasonix ultrasound systems in its four locations in the Houston area.

July 2011 — Egg freezing, which has been most commonly performed on cancer patients before chemotherapy hampers their reproductive options, is growing in popularity for women who have been too busy with their professions or too particular about a mate to have a baby in their 20s or early 30s.

July 2011 - Experts say they have found a way to avoid the higher risk of twins through IVF without reducing the success rate. Internationally, clinics often transfer more than one embryo per IVF cycle to boost the odds of it working.

AUGUST 2011 — New research published online in Developmental Cell indicates that higher expression of certain developmental genes at precise times in the uterus might improve pregnancy rates from in vitro fertilization-embryo transfers (IVF-ET). So far, these rates remain low at around 30%.

October 2011 - Almost 10 million American women of childbearing age are affected by chronic pelvic pain, gastrointestinal and urinary tract difficulties and infertility due to endometriosis, a strange condition, in which cells normally forming the lining of the uterus (endometrium) start colonizing other organs and tissues beyond the uterus.

In 2003, Matthew Rabinowitz's sister, then 32, gave birth to a baby boy with Down syndrome, who died six days later. While pregnant, she had routine tests for possible problems -- blood screening and an ultrasound -- but they failed to detect the extra chromosome that causes the condition.